5 WAYS TO ADD BALANCE TO YOUR LIFE

We need balance in order to live a happy and healthy life.  Think of everything that takes your time and makes up your life.  Whether it’s work life, home life, eating healthy vs. eating what makes you happy or doing for others without neglecting yourself, it can be a struggle to find balance.  Life runs more smoothly and happily when there’s balance.  Achieving balance isn’t the easiest thing, but there are five ways to introduce more balance into your life and get things going in the right direction. 

1) Prioritize

Prioritizing and scheduling can be a great practice to start introducing more of a sense of balance to your life. We all have busy lives and long to-do lists.  The only way we’ll ever get everything done and find balance in our lives is by prioritizing what needs to be done, when to do it and scheduling our days. 

The tricky part is deciding what is important.  In some cases, your work may take priority but in others, family or friends may take priority over your work on your to-do list. Only you can decide what’s important and what should be prioritized in your schedule.  

2)  Become clear of your wants  

Take some time to sit quietly and think about what you want.  Take two days to do this if you need.  Where is the greatest imbalance in your life currently?  Journal your thoughts if this practice helps you or meditate on the topic for a bit.  If work has creeped into your family time make that boundary change a focus.  If getting the kids out the door on time in the morning is a huge stressor and zapping your energy, maybe that’s the focus.  It may be overscheduling yourself with clients and allowing things to encroach on your lunch time that needs to change.  Whatever it is for you, become crystal clear on your top items.  What things will make your life easier or more enjoyable by their presence or removal?

3) Set Goals

Setting both short-term and long-term goals can prove to be incredibly helpful in achieving a balance in your life. There goals help you keep your sights on what you want and what’s important.  This prohibits straying off your path. The short-term goals give you wins along the way which helps with motivation and help you to track your progress as you work to achieve your long-term goals.  

Be specific when setting your goals.  Give a time frame or date for the goal to be completed by.  If you identify that to achieve more balance in your life you need to have one hour for a lunch break then make your schedule 3 weeks ahead with clients always scheduled around this time.  If you know your goal is to take a two-week vacation, set the date, save the money and give your clients advanced notice when you will be gone.  If your goal is to exercise 3 days a week, set the days specifically in your calendar and make your goal, “I will exercise each Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 7am.” 

Once you’ve completed your schedule and are sure that you’re specific in the goals you want to achieve and the steps necessary to get there, you should review your schedule. Periodically reviewing your schedule will help find the things that get in the way of your success.  When you find them early you can make changes to stay on track.  Having fresh produce on hand is a key step to eating five colors a day.  Deciding when you are going to the grocery store is a step necessary for your success.  Reviewing your schedule is an important step allowing you to reflect on your goals and priorities to ensure everything is just as you need it.

4) Find an accountability buddy

An accountability buddy is someone that holds you accountable for the goals you’ve made, the priorities you’ve set, and the things you want to accomplish. It’s easier to find balance and stick to your goals and schedule when you have someone to be accountable to that’s is also looking to you for accountability.

Your relationship with your accountability buddy should be interactive and mutual. If you’re not pulling your weight or your carrying more than your load, you could be hurting yourself more than you’re helping.

5) Always keep the process in mind

Life isn’t just about what you achieve and what you get.  It’s about the journey, the process. In order to achieve a proper balance, you need to always keep in mind that it’s more the process than the potential achievement.  Learn from and enjoy the process.  

Everyone needs balance in order to live a happy and healthy life. Finding the proper balance in life can be difficult, but it’s not impossible and it’s well worth the effort. Hopefully this article has helped to point you on the right path towards a healthy balance in your life.

Until next time

Be fit, be strong, and find your balance